


Forgotten Dreams

by Starltwanderer



Series: To Move the Stars [2]
Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2020-10-11 10:11:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20544440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starltwanderer/pseuds/Starltwanderer
Summary: How will Sarah and Jareth's eldest daughter survive being her father's chosen heir, and eventually being the first hereditary Goblin Queen. Will she give up the dreams she may have had to follow in her parents footsteps?





	1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended. (x)**

“Astraea, precious one, it’s time to get out of bed. Your investiture is tonight,” a melodic soft voice accompanied the gentle brush of a hand down the girl’s face.  
Bright blue, mismatched eyes blinked open, a mild look of fear hidden behind them. The young woman sighed, sitting up and running a hand through her sable curls in frustration.  
“Mama, how can you both be so certain this is the best course?”  
A gentle smile crossed the Goblin Queen’s lips. “My sweet star, your father has gone to lengths immeasurable to be sure. He’s consulted the High Court, changed the rule about the heir to be the one the Labyrinth picks. Nothing says it can’t be you, and frankly, this was never meant for your brothers or younger sisters. They don’t have the wearwithal you do. Now, love, you have got to get up and get ready. Your father is fit to burst with excitement over today.”  
“Sarah!” Jareth could be heard bellowing from the hallway.  
“In Astraea’s chambers, kingy,” she chuckled as she called back. “Buck up darling, your aunts and uncles will be here shortly. You can hear the excitement in your father’s voice.”  
Jareth strode into the room, wrapping his arms around Sarah’s waist, a beaming smile on his own. “How are two of my favourite ladies this morning?”  
“Terrified,” Astrea said bluntly, levelling her gaze at her father.  
“I thought I was your favourite,” Sarah pouted, turning in his arms, jade green eyes flashing with mischief as she kissed him. “I’ll leave you two to talk,” she untangled herself from Jareth’s embrace and briskly brushed out of the room, cerulean train trailing behind her.  
A deep sigh escaped the dark haired princess as she stared directly into the eyes she had inherited. “Papa, are you absolutely sure about this? What are the others going to say? What is going to be whispered behind my back?” her eyes were dewy with tears yet unshed. “I know I’m already the heir in all but name, but what does that actually change?”  
The Goblin King sank gently to the side of his daughter’s bed. “Precious star, I am sure beyond a doubt. All the fighting your mother and I went through to be together, all the worry while she carried you, to the date of your birth, brought you to this point. The Labyrinth blessed you itself, chose you. Your aunt and uncle agree,” he leaned over and softly kissed her forehead. “Cecilie will be here soon to help with your dress and your hair. Your mother probably just left to get your circlet. The rest of the family will be here shortly. Take a deep breath, my sweet star, and relax. Things will go the way they should.”  
Jareth stood again, beaming down at his daughter. “You are meant to be the first Goblin Queen by right, Astraea,” his voice was soft, but his words were grave in their weight. He breezed out the door cheerfully yelling “Precious!” as the door was swinging shut again.  
A frustrated, growling scream escaped Astraea’s lips as she flopped back on to her pillows, covering her face with her hands. A note fell on her chest, crinkling as it landed, a hasty scrawl on the page.  
Astie - could you NOT screech like a banshee? Some of us are trying to sleep. ~Catriona  
A small bit of the heaviness of the day lifted and Astraea chuckled, climbing out of bed and padding barefoot to the door connecting her room to her sister’s. Swinging the door wide, she leaned against the doorframe smirking, an affectation she had picked up from her father.  
“Catie, you are so full of it. You’ve been up since dawn and we both know it. Now what were you planning on wearing tonight?”  
“Oh come on Astie! It’s not even mid-day yet and you’re already on about that?” her sister groused, dropping her book into her lap.  
“If mama and papa are going to make such a fuss, I should too, right? I suppose it’s almost like those sweet sixteen parties mama and Uncle Toby told us about,” she smiled at her sister.  
“Did mama say if Uncle Toby was coming?”  
“I should hope so. He IS married to Cecilie after all.”  
“True,” Catriona brushed a hand through her feather blonde hair, the pale softness of their father’s hair coming through in it.  
“You should wear the lavender. It brings out your eyes. And I KNOW you have a dress hidden away in that closet of yours that’s exactly the shade I mean,” Astraea smirked at her sister.  
“I hate it when you’re so right,” Catriona growled. “So what do you think is going to happen tonight?”  
Astraea crossed the room and sank onto her sister’s bed. “Papa said it’s just the formalities, just basically putting it on the royal registers for the High Court, then the ball, but… I’m so young. I mean, I’m barely over fifty!”  
“Oh come on. Papa was betrothed to Aoife at a hundred and fifty. And he was named heir over his father a year later.”  
“How…”  
“He looked melancholy one day. I asked mama, she told me all about it. She said papa just cares so much for everyone he loves that it hurts him and that’s why he goes so stony sometimes,” unblinking lavender eyes stared at Astraea. “Go worry about looking perfect. I’m sure they made some endlessly ridiculous dress for you to wear. I’ll handle Riordan, Finnian and Isleen,” Catriona smiled, shoving her sister’s shoulder.  
“Catie, when was the last time I gushed about how great a sister you were?”  
“Never, because you’re a jerk,” the tinkling laughter of Catriona’s voice chased Astraea off the bed and back to her own chambers.  
Her siblings stood behind her on this, but the nerves were still screaming horrible things at her. She slowly wandered over to her dressing table and sank onto the plush stool that sat in front of it, studying her features in the mirror.  
She was a near-perfect blend of both her parents. Her mother’s sable hair and light freckling, her father’s mismatched eyes and pale skin. She sighed, staring at herself, remembering the biggest frustration of her genetic lottery - she had her mother’s stature and curves, and was surrounded by lithe, statuesque fae daily.  
“Your Highness?” Cecilie’s voice broke her reverie.  
“Oh! Aunt Cecilie! I’m so sorry, I was in another world. Please, come in! I can’t believe…” Astraea started, turning towards the door and stopped, gasping. “You look stunning! That dress with your hair… and your little belly!”  
The princess crooned over her mother’s handmaiden-turned-sister-in-law, having met Toby when he’d turned forty and divorced his disastrous first wife aboveground. He had come to see Sarah, sulking all the while and had fallen for Cecilie nigh immediately. They’d married soon after and her entire family had accepted him as Jareth’s had Sarah.  
“Oh stop it princess! I have already had to tell your mother to stop cooing. She’s thrilled for a niece or nephew, finally. And oh does she have baby fever again,” the redhead laughed, shaking her head while crossing the room to the wardrobe. “Did the tailor deliver the dress for tonight? Dark blue velvet? He was supposed to bring it by yesterday.”  
“Probably. I was in the gardens with mama all day. Check the back right, that’s where he usually puts the special ones,” Astraea stood, looking around. “It feels silly that I have to match mama and papa… couldn’t it have been silver with blue stones instead?”  
“You’re wearing the color of the royal family, because you’re the heir. And the stones are set like the stars hung in the sky on your day of birth, sweetie,” Cecilie laughed pulling the dress out.  
“It feels like that’s all I’m meant to be,” Astraea muttered to herself as she glanced at Cecilie.  
The dress, held aloft, was absolutely stunning and Astraea’s breath caught in her throat. Her eyes went wide as she gazed at the plush midnight blue velvet spattered with mother of pearl and white, pale blue and gold gemstones studding constellations across the entire body of the dress. The sleeves were a sheer silver taffeta, the metallic threads shot through them glinting in the sunlight.  
“Come on then your Highness, the High King and Queen will be here soon and we want you presentable. You don’t want to disappoint your parents by being late.”  
“You’re right there. And for the heaven’s sake, it’s just Astraea, Aunt Cecilie.”  
“Not for today. End of tonight, you’ll be the Duchess of Sleepless Dreams and Princess of the Winter Stars.”  
“Wait. Papa didn’t say anything about that,” the younger woman’s voice was rife with confusion at the purposeful omission by her father.  
“Part and parcel with being the heir, according to Uncle Sean. He’s been by your father’s side for so long, I’d wager he would know,” a gentle smile crossed Cecilie’s lips. “I think we’ll pin your curls up. Your mother likes them that way for formal events, and it will make you look every bit the princess and heir you are. Besides, you’ve got that collarbone to die for, it will make the boys go a bit batty. Really, your Highness, you’re going to cut such a stunning figure in this outfit.”  
Astraea grew a little meek from the compliment, she was still quite young, being just a bit over fifty. Still a child in the eyes of the courts and yet, here she was, being named the heir to one of the more powerful kingdoms. She could only hope she would be the heir for a great many years before she became the first hereditary Goblin Queen. Plenty of time to find a spouse and have her own children in between everything.  
She had grown up hearing the stories about the only Champion of the Labyrinth, the one that had captured the stony Goblin King’s heart. And she had heard the stories about how her mother had run from him for years before giving into what her heart had known, and loving him as much as he loved her. They were a perfect match, his rashness and occasional coldness towards people was generally tempered by her warmth and level headedness, impulsive as they both could occasionally be. Stories flew about how quickly Sarah had mastered the power of the Labyrinth within her. There was a great deal of hope that Astraea would be much the same in tapping that great power within.  
“Let’s do this, I suppose,” the princess sighed, pulling her nightshift over her head and stepping forward.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended. (x)**  


Cecilie easily lifted the gown over her head and the weighty skirt lay heavy on Astraea’s hips as Cecilie helped her with the sleeves before lacing the dress all the way to closed. The skirts rustled when Astraea fidgeted before Cecilie helped her with the slightly heeled midnight blue slippers.  
“Cecilie, are you in here already?” Sarah’s voice echoed out as she opened the door to Astraea’s room.  
“Of course your Majesty. We want her highness to be dressed and ready for when their Majesties arrive.”  
“Cecilie, I’ve told you a hundred thousand times. Unless we’re in the court areas, it’s just Sarah. You’re my brother’s wife and a Countess now for the heaven’s sake!” Sarah laughed holding a circlet studded with star sapphires and diamonds in her hands.  
“Mama, what if I don’t want this? What if I don’t want to be the first hereditary queen? Shouldn’t Riordan be the heir? He’s the first boy,” Astraea’s voice was low trying not to become hysterical. “It’s not fair!” The princess pouted and looked over at her mother, who was trying desperately to hide a smirk.  
“You say that so often, I wonder what your basis for comparison is,” Sarah replied, before smiling and chuckling. “I’m sorry. I see why your father was so amused by my protestations now, though. Astie, love, the Labyrinth chose you. Just like your father and his grandfather. It gave you its blessing, much like it did to a stupid teenage me. You are the heir it chose to protect it, my precious girl. Come now, let Cecilie do your hair and makeup. I need to go see your Aunt Siobhan. She asked Aislinn to come early to talk to the two of us, no idea what about.”  
Sarah lightly brushed the backs of her fingers down her daughter’s cheek again. “You look beautiful, precious star,” she smiled before breezing out of the room again.  
Cecilie worked quickly, pinning the princess’s hair up, a few curls left down around her face, the circlet firmly ensconced on her head. The makeup was light, and Cecilie clucked her tongue happily as a tap sounded on the door.  
“Enter,” Cecilie replied and the door swung wide, Jareth and Toby standing behind it.  
“Oh my sweet star! You look wonderful!” Jareth beamed at his daughter.  
Toby rushed in, eyes only for his wife. He had started greying a bit before he’d come to the Underground, his light brown hair spotted with silver at the temples. His grey-blue eyes sparkled with the summer’s sun and the fury of storms hidden behind them.  
“Have you been on your feet long, Cici? You shouldn't push yourself-” he started.  
“Tobias Williams! I. Am. Fine! I hate to tell you this, but women have been doing this forever,” she laughed before kissing his cheek. “Your Majesty,” she smiled over at Jareth, sinking into a small curtsey.  
“Cecilie, you are a godsend to this family. It is just Jareth, even tonight at the ball. I know the girls have been after you about it as well.”  
“Your… Jareth. As much as I’d like to…”  
“Cecilie, you are family. You don’t hear Toby groveling to us with titles. Now, stop. The next time I hear our titles coming from your mouth is when I address you as the Countess of Roseton. Understood?”  
Cecilie laughed, holding her husband a little tighter. “Fine, Jareth, fine. Troublemakers, the lot of you, you know that? Sarah certainly has mellowed you these last few decades.”  
The knowing smile on the redhead’s face gave Jareth a moment’s pause. She was right, and he just grinned back at her before turning to his daughter.  
“Ready Astraea?”  
“I guess papa. I’m still terrified,” she sighed, managing to cooly level her gaze at her father.  
He held his hand out for hers, and when she took it, he turned her to head for the formal throne room. Sarah hadn’t been happy about using it, she always hated when they did, likely because of the first time she had been in it, but he knew she was sitting on her throne. The one that had replaced the dining room chair from that first encounter, waiting for both Jareth and Astraea to walk in.  
“Your siblings were blissfully well behaved, sweet star.”  
“That was all Catriona, papa. She’s really just the perfect sister,” Astraea laughed, smiling earnestly for the second time that day.  
“Remind me I owe her a new trinket of some sort for wrangling the other three. And who suggested that lavender dress? She looks beautiful. Nearly a mirror of your Aunt Siobhan.”  
“Me,” Astraea glanced at him, trying to read his face. “She’s had it for nearly a year, and not had a reason to wear it, since someone banned us from both the Beltane AND Samhain festivities last year.”  
“You’re too young,” Jareth stared at his daughter, her mother’s defiant features plastered on her face.  
“Old enough to be thrown to the courts, too young to dance and enjoy holiday merriment? Honestly papa, you are full of contradictions.”  
“Ever Sarah’s spirited girl,” the Goblin King muttered under his breath, adjusting his crown before stepping to the side of the formal throne room.  
Toby and Cecilie entered the room before Jareth and Astraea, and were announced by a goblin that Sarah had managed to teach the position of a page to. Sarah was already seated on her throne and Jareth strode into the room, captivating the already assembled nobility, before soundly kissing his wife, as soon as he reached her, with the same fervor he had for the last few decades.  
Astraea took a deep breath and peered around the corner into the throne room, her parents proud yet even-keeled, faces staring back at her. To her father’s right sat a smaller throne. She swallowed thickly, willing her nerves to stop their incessant fluttering.  
“One foot in front of the other, Ace,” she muttered under her breath, still smiling, as the page announced the Princess Astraea of the Goblin Kingdom to the room.  
Slowly she walked down the aisle way to the thrones before lightly curtseying to her parents and sliding regally onto the throne her father had put to his right.  
“Should have used a dining chair,” Sarah snarked to her husband as he chuckled.  
“We had advance knowledge this time love,” he retorted, still smiling.  
Astraea stared forward, gazing out over the crowd, smiling as her eyes landed on the people placed directly in front of her, her siblings, and right behind them her Aunt Siobhan, Uncle Lennon and their children, and to Siobhan’s left, her favourite uncle, Talesin, even if she’d never tell the rest of them. On the other side, the front two seats at the aisle were reserved for Aislinn and Richard, their children filling the rest of the first row, Toby and Cecilie along with Sean, her father’s right hand man, directly behind them.  
Her heavy fears started lifting and she exhaled slowly as the page called out the arrival of the High King and Queen before they strode in, eyes locked on their niece, smiles plastered across their faces.  
Astraea’s eyes danced across their visages, looking for some sign they didn’t agree with this turn of events, but if they were displeased, it didn’t show. They slowly lowered into their seats and Jareth stood, beaming a toothy smile at the crowd.  
“My dear assembled court, subjects and beloved family, today is an auspicious and wonderful day. Today, the sparkle of my eye becomes the heir to my throne, officially. High King Richard, and his lovely wife, Aislinn were kind enough to bring the register to us, instead of having the Goblin Kingdom travel to them,” his voice was lilting with a light laugh in it as he turned his considerable charm on. “Astraea Dawn, please rise.”  
Jareth’s voice was commanding as he waved his hand and the ledger appeared, gently floating in the air, a fountain pen appearing in Astraea’s hand. Her steps toward the book were tentative. Directly above where she was to inscribe her name, she could see her father’s elegant scrawl, and above that, the inelegant scratching of her great-grandfather. The scritching noise of the pen as it scraped along the vellum echoed out, Astraea’s swooping penmanship delicately etched her name as the next in the long line of heirs to the Goblin Kingdom’s throne… and the first female heir.  
“Now that the formality for the High Court is done,” Jareth flicked his wrist causing the book and pen to disappear and a delicate necklace mirroring his pendant to appear. He gently fastened it around Astraea’s neck as she glanced over at her mother and saw Sarah gently touching her own copy of the same pendant.  
“My dear assembled friends and beloved family, I present to you Crown Princess Astraea Dawn of the Goblin Kingdom, Princess of the Winter Stars, Duchess of Sleepless Dreams, Countess of the Unlost Wanderers,” Jareth’s voice boomed through the room despite his not having raised it. Magical intonations had a power and life all their own, and the investiture of the next Guardian of the Labyrinth was no different.  
“Now, we feast!” Jareth laughed, glancing heatedly at his wife before shooting a happy, paternal look at his daughter.  
Catriona rushed the dais and flung arms around her sister’s neck, a happy smile spread across her face. Riordan was sulking, arms folded across his chest as Talesin leaned forward and whispered something in the younger fae’s ear, a mysterious smile on his face.  
“Thanks Catie. Even Papa was impressed by your wrangling those three. You really are the absolute best sister I could hope for. You really are my right hand,” the shimmering of how deeply the girl meant her words could be seen in her eyes.  
“Catriona, Astraea, it’s time to head to the ballroom,” Sarah walked up to her daughters, smiling lightly.  
“Yes girls, run away from your dreams, just like your mother did,” a venomous voice dripped from just in front of the dais.  
Sarah turned and all the color drained from her face, as though she had seen a ghost.


End file.
